Software applications are increasingly being built, deployed, and managed in the cloud. This is because the cloud enables ubiquitous, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., computer networks, servers, and storage), which can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort.
A developer may build a cloud-based application from base data models and processes. After completion and deployment of a cloud-based application, subscribers to the cloud-based application may want to extend these base data models and processes to meet their specific needs. For example, they may want to extend a product data model to include additional attributes such as product dimensions. But the developer may be unable to extend these base data models and processes without directly modifying them in the cloud platform.
Software application providers who provide their software applications on a cloud platform, however, do not allow a developer to modify these base data models and processes. This is because these base data models and processes are publicly shared by all the customers of these software applications. This means that changes to the base data models and processes are immediately made available to the consumers of these software applications in the cloud platform. Thus, there is no way to extend the base data models and processes in the cloud platform without directly modifying them. Moreover, there is no way to store data models and processes in the cloud platform at different service providers.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical or similar elements. Additionally, generally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.